Ville Heinola Could Be Golden Knight’s Next Reclamation Success Story

There was a time, not all that long ago, when defenseman Ville Heinola was considered the future of the Winnipeg Jets. Selected with the 20th pick in the 1st round of the 2019 Draft, Heinola stepped right onto the Jets blue line on Opening Night in 2019. Playing in a 3rd pair role, Heinola skated 25 shifts for 18:24 and recorded his first career point, a secondary assist on a Blake Wheeler goal.

A few games later, Heinola scored for the first time in the NHL. As Wheeler took the puck around the back of the net, Heinola crept in from the blue line to rip a one-timer from the top of the circle. It squeaked through goalie Matt Murray. Four games into Winnipeg’s season, Heinola had posted three points, a goal, a +3 rating, and averaged nearly 21 minutes per night. The outlook was extremely bright for the 18-year-old Finn.

Winnipeg then decided to take the pragmatic route with their up-and-coming star by sending him back to Finland in order to avoid burning the first year of his entry-level contract. He would also be able to play in World Juniors as a key piece for the Finns.

The next season was a bit of an odd one as COVID forced some weird decisions by teams all over the league. Heinola wound up on the Jets taxi squad early in the year, and head coach Paul Maurice preferred 6’7” Logan Stanley’s size in the rough-and-tumble All-Canadian division. So, Year 2 for Heinola in the NHL came and went with just five appearances. The outlook was still positive… until camp broke the next season.

Heinola failed to make the Jets roster out of Training Camp in 2021-22 and eventually found his way into just 12 games, mostly as an injury replacement. It would become a sign of what was to come for the remainder of Heinola’s time in Winnipeg. He ended his career as a Jet playing just 58 games over six seasons, scoring just that one goal that came in his 4th appearance, and never finding a full-time role in the NHL.

This summer, the now 25-year-old signed a one-year league minimum one-way contract with the Golden Knights. He comes to Vegas as another in a long line of high-draft-pick reclamation projects for the Golden Knights. Brett Howden, Nic Roy, Chandler Stephenson, Alex Holtz, Nolan Patrick, and Malcolm Subban are a few of the highest-profile examples, and they showed mixed results.

Heinola enters a pretty crowded blue line, which will make it extremely difficult for him to break through to the NHL squad to begin the season. However, he should play a prominent role with the Silver Knights to open the year.

Unlike many other teams, the Golden Knights do not have a prospect pool teeming with nearly NHL-ready talent. So, Heinola has a chance to step right into the mix and become the top call-up option extremely quickly. He clearly has the pedigree to do it, and the Golden Knights have had success with these types of players in the past.

Heinola is getting his fresh start after his career stalled in Winnipeg. He won’t be handed anything in Vegas, so he’ll have to prove his worth in the AHL, but don’t be surprised if Heinola is in the NHL at some point this season for the Golden Knights, and maybe Vegas strikes it rich with another castoff.